On Tuesday night, the Red Sox reportedly sent Mookie Betts and David Price as well as cash to the Dodgers in a blockbuster trade, which also involved the Twins.
The Red Sox received outfielder Dodgers outfielder Alex Verdugo and Twins pitching prospect Brusdar Graterol. Verdugo and Graterol aren't exactly household names in baseball, so what exactly are the Red Sox getting?
For starters, Verdugo isn't as unknown as Graterol. The 23-year-old has appeared in the big leagues with the Dodgers each of the last three season and figures to immediately slide into the Red Sox' starting lineup.
He's a left-handed hitter, who in 106 games last season hit .294/.342/.475 with 12 homers and 44 RBIs. He's a solid outfielder with room to grow at the plate. Going into last season, Verdugo was Baseball Prospectus's No. 19 ranked overall prospect.
Verdugo is arbitration eligible in 2022 and will hit free agency in 2025.
As for Graterol, he's the more intriguing player, but there's also not all that much known about him.
The 21-year-old right-hander from Venezuela is known for his hard-throwing pitching ability. He made his Major League debut late last season and set a Twins team record with a 101.9 mph pitch. In 10 big league innings, he struck out 10 batters and was added to the playoff roster.
He also threw a scoreless inning in the playoffs, striking out two Yankees during a perfect eighth inning in Twins’ Game 1 loss. While he was a reliever in the big leagues, he came up through the Twins' organization as a starter.
In the minors last season, Graterol went 7-0 with a 1.92 ERA in 18 games (11 starts). In 61 innings, he struck out 61 batters.
It's unclear what role the Red Sox envision for him, but what he turns out to be will play a major role in reviewing this trade down the road.
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